But the Hippies Are Doing It!
Never before has American culture so greatly lacked and so greatly longed for community. Look around you next time you are in your car or on the Internet.
In the area where I am from, which is quite small mind you, I can think of approximately 8 coffee shops, not including some that I have seen open and close. Why are there so many of these shops, and why is the Starbucks "movement" so explosive? My theory comes from the community vacuum we are living in. Coffee shops are made for discussion groups, meetings, dates, or even for flingin' game at the girl sitting across the room. For the world, coffee shops are one of the only ways to experience community besides stopping by your coworker's cubicle to see how the kids are doing.
Also, look all over the internet at sites like myspace, eharmony, xanga, facebook, or even blogspot! Each of these are geared towards experiencing community. However, I feel like these sites are a perfect way to partake in a community without all the, well...people. We can encourage someone, slam someone, gossip, fall in love, find common interests, and get to know each other all within the comfort of our very own homes! (I use myspace, facebook, and obviously blogspot, so before you joke me...yeah! I know.) But look at it all. People are dying to connect, to touch, to love, so they are finding any and every way they know how.
Also, take a look through our not-so-distant history. There's the hippie movement, for example, where several individuals attempted to simply live in harmony with each other and to accept one another. However, there were mass quantities of what we call heroine required in order for all these dirty individuals to hang out. Let's, also, take a look at the communist movement which revolved around the vision of a utopian community. See, there were all these Russians and a few Germans, who thought, "Hey, we could all work together, and live in one perfect community. It's just as simple as equalizing all humanity." However, equality to them excluded Jews and involved quite a bit of unnecessary deaths, so Reagan went over, tore down a wall, and said, "Wrong!"
All men and women are in love with the idea of unity and connection, and human being longs for transparency among other human beings. We are all just dying inside to be real with one another, and I would say that this is, indeed, a one last wish from a dying nation.
Ok, so there's the longing…
Now, let's take a look at the Body of Christ which I am so proudly a part of. We see the need of the world, and we see it crying out for some kind of community to relate with, be real in, find acceptance in, and to fall in love with. So, what do we do as the world comes through the door with its hat in hand and its nose runny from crying about being lost in the dark? We bump into it on our way to tell the preacher we disagreed with his sermon, or to tell an elder that he's spending way too much money on the new building program, or we go looking for someone else who's more "In" while we disregard anyone who doesn't match our style. Perhaps, some of us even fall into this category: we are so bitter about being taken advantage of that we ignore the world as well as our own brother's and sisters.
The world stands at the door looking at this scene, and draws the conclusion that the rumor it heard about the Church holding the key to connection and fulfillment was all a bunch of crock. However, we are holding that truth, but we all run in a million different directions like a body that stumbled in front of an oncoming train—disconnected. Therefore, what does the world find? Nothing. Poor world.
"The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" 1 Corinthians 6:7
simple.
http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/hippie-48540.jpg
In the area where I am from, which is quite small mind you, I can think of approximately 8 coffee shops, not including some that I have seen open and close. Why are there so many of these shops, and why is the Starbucks "movement" so explosive? My theory comes from the community vacuum we are living in. Coffee shops are made for discussion groups, meetings, dates, or even for flingin' game at the girl sitting across the room. For the world, coffee shops are one of the only ways to experience community besides stopping by your coworker's cubicle to see how the kids are doing.
Also, look all over the internet at sites like myspace, eharmony, xanga, facebook, or even blogspot! Each of these are geared towards experiencing community. However, I feel like these sites are a perfect way to partake in a community without all the, well...people. We can encourage someone, slam someone, gossip, fall in love, find common interests, and get to know each other all within the comfort of our very own homes! (I use myspace, facebook, and obviously blogspot, so before you joke me...yeah! I know.) But look at it all. People are dying to connect, to touch, to love, so they are finding any and every way they know how.
Also, take a look through our not-so-distant history. There's the hippie movement, for example, where several individuals attempted to simply live in harmony with each other and to accept one another. However, there were mass quantities of what we call heroine required in order for all these dirty individuals to hang out. Let's, also, take a look at the communist movement which revolved around the vision of a utopian community. See, there were all these Russians and a few Germans, who thought, "Hey, we could all work together, and live in one perfect community. It's just as simple as equalizing all humanity." However, equality to them excluded Jews and involved quite a bit of unnecessary deaths, so Reagan went over, tore down a wall, and said, "Wrong!"
All men and women are in love with the idea of unity and connection, and human being longs for transparency among other human beings. We are all just dying inside to be real with one another, and I would say that this is, indeed, a one last wish from a dying nation.
Ok, so there's the longing…
Now, let's take a look at the Body of Christ which I am so proudly a part of. We see the need of the world, and we see it crying out for some kind of community to relate with, be real in, find acceptance in, and to fall in love with. So, what do we do as the world comes through the door with its hat in hand and its nose runny from crying about being lost in the dark? We bump into it on our way to tell the preacher we disagreed with his sermon, or to tell an elder that he's spending way too much money on the new building program, or we go looking for someone else who's more "In" while we disregard anyone who doesn't match our style. Perhaps, some of us even fall into this category: we are so bitter about being taken advantage of that we ignore the world as well as our own brother's and sisters.
The world stands at the door looking at this scene, and draws the conclusion that the rumor it heard about the Church holding the key to connection and fulfillment was all a bunch of crock. However, we are holding that truth, but we all run in a million different directions like a body that stumbled in front of an oncoming train—disconnected. Therefore, what does the world find? Nothing. Poor world.
"The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" 1 Corinthians 6:7
simple.
http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/hippie-48540.jpg
posted by Taylor @ 9:03 PM
1 Comments:
At 7:27 PM,
Cpt. Sqweky said…
Great post.
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